[In Person] Maritime and Shipping Law Course for Legal and Industry Practitioners

Ms Gina Lee-Wan
Consultant, Maritime & Aviation Practice, Allen & Gledhill LLP 

In 2018, Gina Lee-Wan was recognised as one of the top 10 maritime lawyers globally by Lloyd’s List and was the only female lawyer to have made it to the list. She continues to be recognised as one of the top 10 maritime lawyers globally by the same publication in 2019 and 2022, placing her at number 6 with the quote that “she provides “excellent” service” and has earned their “complete confidence”. In 2019, Gina received the International Maritime Centre (Individual) Award, the first female and lawyer to win this award for the Singapore International Maritime Awards. 

Her practice encompasses contentious and non-contentious shipping and offshore matters, international trade and insurance matters, focusing primarily on ship construction, shipsale and purchase, and ship, offshore and aircraft leasing, equity and financing transactions with particular expertise in highly complex and structured transactions. She is consistently ranked in the top tier of leading individuals in Shipping by Chambers Global, Chambers Asia-Pacific and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and is frequently cited as an expert in shipping. . She was ranked as a Star Individual and Senior Statespeople in the Chambers Asia-Pacific 2022 and 2023 respectively. She was also ranked as Global Elite Thought Leader in the Who’s Who Legal Southeast Asia 2022 – Transport – Shipping. Amongst her accolades as noted in Chambers Asia-Pacific are that: she is an “experienced, first-class ship finance lawyer of international standard”, with one source noting that she has been ‘involved in the industry for a very long time’”, while another client notes that “she is the most knowledgeable person on shipping in Singapore,” adding that “She has handled so many matters, in many different jurisdictions, and she is able to apply all of this knowledge.

Mr Bernard Yee
Managing Director, Resource Law LLC

Bernard is an experienced litigator and dispute resolution practitioner. He regularly appears as counsel before courts and arbitral tribunals in Singapore on a wide range of contentious matters.
Bernard represents clients in a wide range of general and commercial disputes ranging from corporate insolvency and shareholders disputes to cross-border asset tracing and enforcement actions, often utilising procedures such as maritime arrest, freezing injunctions, search orders and evidence preservation orders.

Bernard also regularly advises shipowners, charterers, P&I Clubs and H&M insurers on shipping and transportation related matters. He represents these clients in legal proceedings, arbitrations and dispute resolution processes. Bernard’s experience in this field has earned him accreditation as a senior specialist for maritime and shipping law.

Mr Bazul Ashhab
Managing Partner & Head of Dispute Resolution, Oon & Bazul LLP

Bazul Ashhab is Oon & Bazul’s Managing Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution leading its Litigation and the Arbitration Practice Groups.

He is highly regarded by the shipping industry and has significant expertise in dry shipping and marine insurance disputes. He has been involved in several landmark shipping matters around the world. He has assisted marine insurers in the region to set up fixed premium P&I products and to set up their claims department. He has also acted for insurers in both treaty and facultative reinsurance disputes.

Some of his notable cases include acting successfully for an Indian shipowner in a Singapore arbitration against Singaporean charterers, where the vessel was detained in Iraq during the civil unrest just after the American occupation, and representing an Indian bank in UCO Bank v. Golden Shore Transportation Pte Ltd, where the Singapore Court of Appeal clarified the law on the right of suit under a bill of lading.

He has been cited in Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Chambers Asia Pacific.

Mr Winston Kwek
Partner, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

Winston is active in dispute resolution work in the Singapore courts and international arbitrations. Winston has extensive experience in a wide variety of shipping related work ranging from marine insurance, ship sale and purchase, ship finance, casualty work, ship construction and repair, structured finance, commodities and charterparty disputes to shipping fraud cases.

In Chambers Global – The World’s Leading Lawyers, he comes highly recommended by clients due to his “overwhelming experience and ability to put in that little bit extra to tip the balance in a case” and is “always the first choice” for mortgage enforcement work.

Winston also taught the Law of Marine Insurance at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore as an Adjunct Associate Professor, and is the Editor of Marine Insurance, Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore.

Mr Augustine Liew
Partner, Haridass Ho & Partners 

Augustine Liew is a litigator concentrating his practice mainly in admiralty including ship arrests, casualties, fires, groundings, collisions, salvage, general average, towage, cargo claims, personal injury claims, crew and wages disputes, ship management disputes, claims involving loss of containers in inclement weather and bunker disputes. He has handled oil shortage and contamination disputes as well and generally disputes in the oil and gas sector.  He handles both H&M and P&I Club matters mostly for shipowners and their insurers.

Some of his notable cases include NEPTANK III, the first case in Singapore on oil pollution where the Owners of a ship carrying oil in bulk had successfully invoked limitation under the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act (repealed), Marina Iris where he represented the shipowner in a marine hull and machinery insurance matter in which a tug sank during her voyage from Kobe to Singapore, and an LMAA arbitration held in London where he represented the Seller of a newbuilding in a sale and purchase dispute of about US$34m. More recent involvements are in the MV X-PRESS PEARL and MV MAERSK HONAM fire matters.

He has also lectured in admiralty and shipping law at various educational institutes including Nanyang Technological University, Temasek Polytechnic and SILE, and is a contributor to several publications.

Mr Ian Teo
Managing Director, Helmsman LLC

Ian Teo, Managing Director of Helmsman LLC, is a commodities and shipping specialist lawyer. He is consistently recommended in major legal publications for his shipping and commodities expertise, including Chambers – The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business, World’s Leading International Trade and Shipping Lawyers, Asia Pacific Legal 500 and Best Lawyers International (2013 -2018). In the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers International, Ian was named Singapore Trade Lawyer of the Year.

In 2019, Ian was amongst of the first batch of Senior Accredited Shipping and Maritime Law Specialists recognised by the Singapore Academy of Law. He was also recognised by Euromoney Expert Guides 2019 as one of the world’s 30 Best of the Best shipping lawyer.

He is a member of the adjunct faculty at the Singapore Management University, School of Law, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitration and an Adjunct Fellow of the NUS Centre for Maritime Law. He contributes to academia regularly, and has published in Lloyd’s Maritime & Commercial Quarterly. Ian is qualified to practise in Singapore and English & Wales.

Mr Leong Kah Wah
Head, Disputes’ Resolution & Partner, Shipping and International Trade, 
Rajah & Tann LLP

Leong Kah Wah is Rajah & Tann’s Head of Disputes’ Practices and a Partner of the Shipping and International Trade Practice Group.

His notable work include the Court of Appeal case of Bunga Melati 5 as successful lead counsel, where the court clarified the requirements for invocation of admiralty jurisdiction, which is now seen as the leading case in this subject matter. Other significant cases are the Patraikos II where the ship ran aground at the South Ledge rocks off the Horsburgh Lighthouse, Pacific Vigorous where he argued a novel point on election in a misdelivery dispute, Regalindo Resources v Seatrek, where he acted successfully in an anti-injunction against a Rule B attachment, amongst others. He has also acted at counsel in maritime arbitrations before the SIAC, SCMA, LMAA, New York SMA, GAFTA, FOSFA and PORAM.

He is ranked Band 1 in Chambers and has been cited in Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Who’s Who Legal and The Legal Media Group Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers.

Mr Toh Kian Sing SC
Senior Partner & Head of the Shipping & International Trade,
Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

Toh Kian Sing SC is a Senior Partner and Head of the Shipping & International Trade Practice Group of Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP. 

He acts as counsel in shipping and commodity arbitrations and accepts appointments to act as arbitrator in these areas. He is on the panel of arbitrators of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration, China Maritime Arbitration Commission, Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration and has accepted appointments to act in ICC arbitrations. He is a Fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. 

His scope of expertise includes bills of lading, charterparty, marine insurance and reinsurance, shipbuilding, ship sale and purchase litigation as well as arbitration, oil trading, oil rigs and commodity disputes as well as letters of credit litigation. 

He is consistently featured in the Chambers Asia-Pacific and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific.